1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated laser weld machine to weld photonic package components.
2. Background Information
Fiber optic networks typically contain a number of optical fibers interconnected by various routers, computers, switches, etc. Information is transmitted through the fibers by photo-emitters such as laser diodes. The laser diodes emit light that travels through the fiber to a photo-detector.
The end of an optical fiber is typically coupled to the photo-emitter or photo-detector in an electronic package. The package typically contains a platform that supports the emitter/detector and an outer metal housing to protect the optical components. The housing has an aperture that receives the end of the fiber. A metal sleeve is attached to the end of the fiber and then welded to the package housing. It is critical to accurately align the fiber with the emitter/detector to minimize the optical power losses in the system.
The sleeve is typically welded to the package with one or more lasers in an apparatus commonly referred to as a laser weld machine. The laser weld machine has tooling fixtures that hold the package and sleeve in place during the weld process. The package, sleeve and fiber are manually loaded onto the tooling fixtures by an operator. After the welding process is completed, the operator removes the assembled part and reloads the machine to repeat the process with another set of parts.
The tooling fixtures hold the parts in a vertical orientation such that the fiber sleeve is directly above the package during the welding process. It would be desirable to automate the loading and unloading of the parts into the weld machine. Unfortunately, present vertically orientated machines do not allow for easy access of automated placement equipment.
It is important to locate the fiber sleeve flush with the outside surface of package to insure a rigid attachment of the sleeve and the package. To compensate for initial part misalignment the tooling fixture may include a yoke that is gimbal mounted to a rigid platform. The gimbal yoke allows the package to move and xe2x80x9cfloatxe2x80x9d so that the fiber sleeve is flush with the outside surface of the package during the weld process. In a vertical orientation the gimbal is not affected by the force of gravity. Moving the gimbal to another orientation would require a scheme to compensate for gravitational forces.
One embodiment of the present invention includes an automatic handling assembly that can load and unload photonic package components into a laser station.